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(No Model J. N. LIGHTHALL.

LUBR-IOATOR.

No. 371,080. Patented Oct. 4, 1887.

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M4 550 rm UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOSEPH N. LIGHTHALL, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF, T O

WILLIAM A. LIGHTHALL, SAME PLACE.

LUBRICATO R.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 371,080, dated October 4, 1887.

Application filed July 9, 1887.

To aZZ. whom it may concern.-

Be it known that l, JOSEPH N. LIGHIHALL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Ohicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Lubricators for Hydraulic and other Cylinders, which is fully set forth in the following specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which- IO Figure 1 is a side elevation of an apparatus having my improvement applied thereto; Fig. 2, a sectional view taken on the line 1 1 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3, a plan View; Fig. 4, a detail view of a portion of the lubricating device detached;

is Fig. 5, a face view of one-half of the sprocketwheel; Fig. 6, a sectional view of the same, taken on the line 2 2 of Fig. 5; and Fig. 7, an elevation of a modified form of lubricating device. Figs. 1, 2, and 3 are on the same scale with respect to each other. The remaining figures are on the same scale with respect to each other, but on an enlarged scale with respect to Figs. 1, 2, and 3.

Like letters refer to like parts in all the figz5. ures of the drawings.

My invention relates to lubricators for hydraulic and other cylinders, its object being to provide an automatic lubricating device whereby single-acting open-ended cylinders,

0 either hydraulic or of any other description,

shall be automatically supplied with a suitable lubricant for the piston, and which shall be uniformly spread over the interior of the cylinder.

5 To these ends my invention consists in the combination, with the piston or piston-rod, of

. a lubricating device attached to and traveling with the same to supply the lubricant to the interior of the cylinder, within which latter it- 40 is arranged. This lubricating device may be either fixed in its relation to the part to which it is attached, or it may be revoluble thereon, and in this latter case it may either be revolved by hand or be provided with suitable 4 5 actuating mechanism for imparting to it a positive revolution.

My invention further consists in a lubricating device of the description above pointed out, which is so constructed in sections as to adapt it for application to any ordinary form of apparatus without necessitating any altera. tions in the said apparatus or the removal of any parts of the same.

I will now proceed to describe a construction in which I have practically carried out 5 my invention in one form, and will then particularl y point out in the claims those features which I deem to be new and desire to protect by Letters Patent.

In the drawings I have shown my lubricator applied to the cylinder of a hydraulicelevator of what is known as the Crane type. In this construction, A represents the cylinder,

B the piston, and O the piston-rod, which latter operates the carriage or cross-head D, traveling on the ways (1 and carrying the drum or pulley wheels E. These parts are constructed and operate in the usual and well-known manner, it being only necessary to state that the cylinder A is a hydraulic cylinder open at one end, as shown. In practice, with the form of lubricator shown, I attach to the open end of the cylinder A a ring or annulus, a, of smaller internal diameter than the cylinder, for the purposes hereinafter pointed out.

F represents the lubricator, which in the present instance is shown as mounted on the piston-rod 0 between two-part or sectional collars G and 0 secured on the said pistonrod. The lubricator consists of a sleeve, f, 8: revoluble upon the piston-rodG and provided with radial arms f,having at their outer ends wipers f, having an outer facing of hemp or other suitable soft and absorbent material to receive and to carry the lubricant and spread the same upon the interior of the cylinder. A gear-wheel, f is also provided upon the sleeve for the purpose of actuating the same, in the manner hereinafter described. The radial arms f are preferably rectangular in cross- 0 section and are mounted to slide in corresponding boxes, f, provided with coiled springsf, which serve to thrust the wiper-arms radially outward. A removable retaining plate, f, bolted or otherwise secured to the box f serves 9 5 to permit the removal and replacement of the wiper-arms and springs in an obvious manner.

In its preferable form the sleeve f is' divided into two halves, each half carrying one of the wiper-arms and one-half of the gear f This construction permits the lubricator to be readily attached to or removed from the pistonrod, the two halves thereof being connected by means of boltsf, passing through lugsf on the two halves of the lubricator, as shown.

G represents a shaft arranged parallel to and preferably above the piston-rod O, and provided at its front end with a pinion, 9 which meshes with the gear-wheel f. The front bearing, 0, of the shaft G is mounted or formed on the two-part collar C and its rear with a bearing, h, for a shaft, H, arranged at right angles to the shaft G and provided at its inner end with a bevel-pinion, h, which meshes with a corresponding bevel-pinion, g, on the shaft G. At its outer end the shaft H is provided with a sprocket-wheel, H, over which passes a sprocket-chain, H The sprocketchain H is actuated by means of a sprocketwheel, I, constructed in two parts, one of which is shown in Figs. 5 and 6 of the drawings. This two-part construction is adapted to enable me to place the sprocket-wheel around the shaft E of the drum or pulley wheels E, and, after being placed in position, the two halves of the sprocket-wheel are bolted or otherwise secured to the spokes or hub of the said drum or pulley wheels by means of bolts passing through the apertures 2', formed therein for this purpose.

The apparatus thus constructed operates in the following manner: A proper quantity of the lubricant-say, for instance, a quart of 111- bricating-oilis poured into the cylinder A, at the bottom of which it is retained between the piston B and the ring a. As the piston reciprocates, the drum or pulley wheels E rotate, and the rotary motion is imparted, through the medium of the sprocketwheel I, chain H,

shafts H and G, with their gearing, and the gears g and f, to the lubricator F, which is thus caused to rotate slowly around the pistonrod 0. The lubricator also partakes of the reciprocating motion of the pistonrod, and this motion, in combination with its movement of rotation, serves to spread or distribute the lubricant evenly over the entire surface of the cylinder, the wipers collecting 'the oil which lies in the bottom of the cylinder at each revolution, and during the remainder of their travel spreading the same in the manner just referred to.

It will be observed that all the parts of the lubricator and its operating mechanism are so constructed in sections that they are capable of application to the main apparatus without in any way changing or altering this latter and without necessitating the disconnecting or removal of any of the parts thereof. Such a construction obviously enables me to apply the lubricator to an apparatus which is already set up and in operating position.

Although in the preferred form which Ihave shown and described the lubricator is revoluble and is provided with means for positively rotating it, I do not limit myself to such a construction, as alubricator fixed upon the piston or piston-rod may beemployed. For instance, in Fig. 7 of the drawings Ihave shown a two-part wheel, J, the two halves being connected by bolts j, and the said wheel being provided with a groove-periphery, j, to receive the packing J, of hemp or other suitable material. In the bottom of the groovej beneath the packing J is arranged a strip of metal, J fitting loosely within the groove and adjustable by means of screws j to force the packing J outward as it wears away. A wheel of this description may be fixed upon the piston-rod O, or may be mounted thereon so as to revolve freely, in which latter case the wheel will be turned by hand at suitable intervals, so as to bring a fresh surface into contact with the cylinder. Any other suitable form of lubricating device may be employed, and I do not limit my invention to the particular forms shown and described.

Various modifications of the details of construction may be made without departing from the principle of my invention. For instance, although I have shown my invention as applied to a horizontal hydraulic cylinder, it is obviously applicable to a vertical cylinder, and also to cylinders other than hydraulicsuch, for instance, as the cylinders of hot-air engines and the like. I therefore do not wish to be understood as limiting myself strictly to the precise details hereinbefore described, and shown in the drawings.

Having thus described myinvention, whatI claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The combination, with the openended cylinder and its piston and piston-rod, of the lubricator mounted on the piston-rod and revoluble thereon, and the pulley-wheels E, connected to the said lubricator to actuate the same, substantially as and for the purposes specified.

2. The combination, with the cylinder A, piston B, and piston-rod 0, having crosshead D, with drum or pulley wheels E, of the lubricating device F, mounted to revolve on the piston-rod and having gear f the shaft G, having pinion g and bevel-pinion g, the shaft H, having bevel-pinion h and sprocket-wheel H, the sprocket-wheel I, and sprocket-chain H substantially as and for the purposes specified.

3. The combination, with the horizontal cylinder A, having piston B, piston-rod O, and the revoluble lubricator mounted on said piston-rod, of the retaining ring or annulus a,

secured to the open end of the cylinder and V projecting inward a slight distance only, substantially as and for the purposes specified.

4. The combination, with the cylinder and its piston and piston-rod, of the lubricator mounted to revolve on the piston-rod and constructed in two separable halves, the collars supporting the bearings of the actuatinggea.ring, also constructed in two separable halves, and the two-part sprocket-Wheel,substantially as and for the purposes specified.

5. The combination, with the openended cylinder and its piston and piston-rod, of the lubricator mounted on the piston-rod and provided with a facing of hemp or other absorbent 15 material held against the inner surface of the cylinder by an elastic or yielding pressure, substantially as and for the purposes specified.

6. The combination, with the sleeve f, having boxes f*, with coiled springs f, of the 20 wiper-arms f arranged in said boxes, substantially as and for the purposes specified.

JOSEPH N. LIGHTHALL.

Witnesses:

IRVINE MILLER, A. M. BEST. 

